PARENTING STYLES AND DELINQUENT BEHAVIOURS AMONG STUDENTS IN DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the relationship among different parenting styles and delinquent behaviour among secondary school students in Delta State. Five research questions and five null hypotheses were formulated and tested. The design of the study is a correlational research design. The population comprised 72,854 senior secondary school students. A sample size of 1,045 students was selected through a multistage sampling procedure. Questionnaire is the instrument that was used in the study. The questionnaire was validated by experts’ judgement and factor analysis. Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient was used to estimate the reliability index of the instrument. The Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient of Determination was used to answer the research questions while regression and fisher-z statistics were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that a significant relationship exists between authoritative parenting style and delinquent behaviour among secondary school students; that a significant relationship exists between authoritarian parenting style and delinquent behaviour among secondary school students; that a significant relationship exists between permissive parenting style and delinquent behaviour among secondary school students; that a significant relationship exists between uninvolving parenting style and delinquent behaviour among secondary school students in delta state.